My Life in Meals

The Adventures of a Foodie....

  • 24th February
    2011
  • 24

Sriracha Marinara with Meatballs

You’ll very soon come to know that Serious Eats is my all time favorite food blog. It’s founder, Ed Levine, is the original old school New York foodie. You’ll also very soon come to see my passion for all things hot and spicy! That’s why the minute I saw this recipe for Sriracha Marinara with Meatballs on Serious Eats, I knew I HAD to try it. Meatballs, yum! Sriracha, yum! What’s there not to like?

Of course I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it EXTRA hot! My version below…

Ingredients:  

For the meatballs

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess moisture
  • 3 tablespoons plain dried breadcrumbs
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • cooking spray or oil

For the sauce

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 3-4 tablespoons sriracha sauce, or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
  • 1 pound whole wheat thin spaghetti
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Note: Not everyone can handle the heat like I can, so of course feel free to put sriracha, chili flakes, jalapenos and chili powder to your liking!

Procedure:

  1. Combine the turkey, spinach, bread crumbs, jalapeno, red chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well by hand in a large bowl. Roll into about 20 meatballs, arrange on a baking sheet, and spray with oil. Alternatively, you can roll them individually in a small dish of oil to coat.

  2. Preheat the broiler, then cook meatballs until golden brown, about 10 minutes, turning once to ensure even cooking. When they are done they should look like this:
  3. While the meatballs are in the oven, heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium until simmering. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add tomatoes, chili flakes, sriracha, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes, then add meatballs and continue simmering until they are cooked through.
  4. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente, reserving 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Drain pasta, add to sauce, and toss well to coat, adding pasta water if necessary to create a loose sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Voila! Serve with salad and/or garlic bread and enjoy!